DAVID MILIBAND will reveal today whether he intends to stay in the Shadow Cabinet after being pipped to the leadership by his brother Ed.

The older Miliband may decide to quit front-line politics altogether, after failing to win the top job despite gathering more support than Ed among MPs and party activists.

Labour rules give one third of the leadership votes to the trade unions, and Ed’s landslide win among union members saw him to victory.

Although Ed Miliband’s team would like to see both brothers serve on the front bench, there are increasing signs that David would find it difficult to take orders from his sibling.

And the furore over the result, and the attempts by the brothers to deal with the fall- out, have dominated the party’s annual conference in Manchester.

Labour MPs elect the Shadow Cabinet when the party is in opposition, and nominations for front-bench jobs end at 5pm this evening.

Yesterday David Miliband was caught apparently criticising his brother Ed’s maiden speech as leader by a television microphone.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary was in the hall in Manchester to watch the address, praising it afterwards as “very strong” and “nerveless”.

But ITV News claimed to have caught him on tape making a barbed comment to the party’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman.

Following a key passage where Ed condemned the invasion of Iraq as “wrong”, his elder brother was said to have turned to Mrs Harman sitting next to him and said: “You voted for it, why are you clapping?”

She replied: “I am clapping because as you know, I am supporting him.”

Iraq remains a major dividing line between the two brothers, with David refusing to criticise the 2003 invasion during the leadership campaign.

Since losing the leadership contest by a wafer-thin margin on Saturday, David Miliband has repeatedly urged Labour to unite behind his younger brother.

But he has pointedly failed to confirm he will continue to serve in the Shadow Cabinet, fuelling speculation he will choose to step down from front-line politics rather than take orders from Ed.

During his speech yesterday the new leader made no direct reference to the contest, but said: “David, I want to say to you I have always known what an extraordinary person you are.

“And now you have once again shown to everyone else, with the graciousness you have shown since Saturday and the extraordinary and inspiring speech you made yesterday, what an extraordinary person you are.”

He also poked fun at pundits who have suggested he is the more left-wing of the brothers and nicknamed him “Red Ed”.

“Let me scotch a myth about David and me right away. Some people, you might have noticed, seem to think I may be more left-wing than him,” Mr Miliband said.

“It certainly was not true when we were kids. I will never forget the day I stole his football. He was so angry with me that he nationalised my train set.”